Originally the different devices provided in a vehicle, in particular a motor vehicle, have been operated via separate operating elements. For example, there have been rotary controls for adjusting the ventilation and the temperature, switches for adjusting the different ventilation ducts, switches for operating the illumination devices for the interior of the vehicle, respective switches for the lighting and headlamp devices at the outside of the vehicle and operating elements for a radio or a CD player. In the meantime provided in modern motor vehicles are so many devices for adjusting different vehicle functions, information systems including driver assistance systems and entertainment systems that it is no longer convenient to provide separate operating elements for all vehicle devices. For this reason, the operation of the manifold vehicle devices is carried out by means of a integrative operational concept comprising few operating elements which are operated in conjunction with a display device. In doing so, push buttons are displayed by the display of the display device which may be selected by the operating element.
The operation of the different devices of the vehicle and the picking up of information that can be provided by these devices possibly stress the concentration of the driver such that the simultaneous safe control of the motor vehicle by the driver is not possible or only in a limited manner. Therefore, if the driver desires to operate devices of the vehicle the information of which are displayed via the display device he/she possibly should perform this prior to the start of a drive or should interrupt the drive for the operation. However, such interferences are not desired for the operation. Often they result in that the driver operates the devices of the vehicle during the drive although this may result in a distraction which may constitute a safety risk.
It is therefore desirable to display the information in the motor vehicle such that it can be absorbed by the driver in a fast and intuitive manner so that the comprehension of the information displayed does not result in a distraction of the driver during the drive. Further, the operation should be operable so intuitive, simple and fast that the driver also may operate the devices of the vehicle, the information of which is displayed by the display device, during the drive even if where required complex structures may be displayed by the display device. The information representation and the operation in the motor vehicle corresponding to an information representation therefore add to the safety of driving the motor vehicle.
In particular in order to provide to the driver of a vehicle an operation of the devices of the vehicle in which he/she does not have to avert his/her eyes from the driving action it is well-known to utilize a voice controller. In this case, the driver pushes a so called push-to-talk button which for example may be provided for at the steering wheel whereupon he/she carries out a linguistic input. After pushing the push-to-talk button the voice controller is activated. During a given time interval acoustic signals are recorded by a microphone in the interior of the vehicle and are analyzed by means of a voice recognition unit and converted into control instructions. It is a disadvantage of such an operational system that the voice controller does not integrate smoothly into the operation of a multi-functional operating device, for example, but voice instructions may only be input by previously pushing the push-to-talk button.